BOK Re-Enters Gold Market with $250M ETF Purchase

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has made its first gold investment in over 13 years, purchasing more than $250 million worth of the SPDR Gold Trust ETF. The BOK holds 679,765 shares of the ETF as of the end of the second quarter, which is valued at $250.4 million.

The BOK's investment in gold comes after a long absence from the market, with its last purchase being 20 tons in 2013. Gold ETFs allow investors to gain exposure to gold without physically owning it, tracking changes in the price of the precious metal.

The timing of the BOK's purchase is not specified in the filing, but the holding was not included in its first-quarter report. The SPDR Gold Trust has been trading at around $400 per share recently, rebounding from a low of $360 last month.